Animal Sounds by David Rothenberg

 

David Rothenberg, a composer and jazz clarinetist, records animal sounds especially those of whales. As he says himself – he has not found more complex singing than that of whales. In an New York Times interview he explains that whales speak for themselves, in a world between human and whale. Once you realize that, it challenges your understanding about what music actually is and you can never completely come out again. He also collaborated with Pauline Oliveros and her approach of deep listening which I find very interesting. They both push the borders of the understanding of music. Since humpback songs seem not only melancholic but also electronic, Rothenberg worked together with electronic musicians as well. He intends to blend very different cultures pushing our sense of music. Reading about David Rothenberg’s approach regarding whale music made me learn a lot about whales. When I listened to “The Whale Song” it seemed melancholic to me, accompanied by a feeling of darkness. The noises of the whale(s) appeared sad and desperate to me. Rothenberg joined these sounds, at some point his music overlapped the animal sound. I felt like I could hear the sea, the sound of the waves. The song continued to be peaceful, suddenly the ambiance changed. The melody was strident, the animal sound got very loud. Then, again, the song was calm, the whale(s) seemed far away. At the end, the whale(s) disappeared, I thought of it being a farewell.

After diving into Rothenberg’s approach, I realized that humpback songs appear melancholic but there is more to their music than just that emotion. There are grunts, squeaks, beats, cool noises being more electronic than melodic. Actually, humans and whales share a capacity to express so-called complex emotions, whales three times as much as human beings. Consequently, these animal sounds are not only melancholic but they need close listening. Humpback’s vocalizations are specifically aesthetic expressions expressing feelings through music. Since usual recordings of whales tend to be alienating, Rothenberg aims to reduce ocean sounds to a minimum in order to express intimacy.

I find Rothenberg’s approach very interesting. At first, I could not figure out his intention when listening to his recorded pieces. It is probably best experienced in nature. Yet, after having read about whales and their sounds shaping their feelings, I was fascinated by the idea that whales might intentionally express their emotions in sounds. Rothenberg creates awareness for animal sounds and he brings us closer to other singing animals. He clearly does challenge our understanding of music and what we tend to interpret into a certain frequency of sounds.